South African Airways ‘here to stay’, troubled carrier's boss insists

The carrier’s chief executive John Lamola said the airline will seek to operate independently after the collapse of a deal with Takatso Aviation, an African investment company set up solely to take over SAA.

Lamola said the slimmed-down SAA was “here to stay”. He added: “As you might be aware, SAA has intentionally remodelled, resized and repositioned itself, with a prudent growth path in our sights. 

“After ceasing operations in 2020 we returned to the skies in September 2021 with just seven routes and six aircraft. We have now doubled our routes to 14 and are flying 13 aircraft. In the coming weeks we will be taking delivery of an additional four Airbus A320s. In April we will begin our second intercontinental route to Perth.”

SAA’s route network has reverted to being mainly within Africa. It flies from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo and begins services to Perth on 28 April, but with only three long-haul aircraft, looks unlikely to resume services to London.

Lamola added the airline’s restructuring meant it “can now also confidently explore a range of funding options”, including those from outside South Africa.

SAA will remain state-owned while it seeks an investor. Its heavy losses and debts had previously discouraged private capital, but Lamola said its recovery since relaunching in 2021 “has significantly repaired our credit rating with financial institutions”.

“This new economic profile of SAA has unlocked funding opportunities that were not available to us three years ago,” he said. 

The South African government has stated the airline can sustain itself financially for the next year to 18 months and does not plan to give it any more bail-outs.